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As many gamers know, their mouse is one of the most important devices
that they use to navigate through minefields, aim at enemy troops, and
even to move the good old paddle around in Pong. Players may often have
the latest mouse on their desk such as the Microsoft IntelliEye™ Explorer
or the Razor Boomslang 2000, but one of the most overlooked items is the
mouse pad. Many of us still use the cheap, flimsy $1 mouse pad that came
with our computer. Most of you won't even bother to switch to a higher
performance pad because of the price, or you just don't know which one
to buy. That's where this guide comes in. Being the owner of the 3M Precise
Mouse Surface and the Everglide, I have no biases against either one.
Now, let's start comparing these two babies.

Price

The Everglide weighs in at around $25 (all prices in Canadian Funds)
and can only be ordered online. The 3M can be bought for approximately
$17 at many stores such as Computer City, and Business Depot. Although
not cheap, both of these mouse pads are much better than your standard
foam pad.

Durability

The Everglide is one tough mouse pad. Try as I might, I could not even
put a dent in this thing. I can only compare this thing to a ˝ cm piece
of wood. That's how strong this thing is! There are 5 rubber stoppers
to hold this baby to your desk so that when you are in the middle of an
intense battle, this thing doesn't move.

Compared to the Everglide, the 3M pad is like a piece of paper. You can't
even hold this thing horizontally without it bending over. Another negative
thing about this pad is that it scratches really easily so you'll have
to be extra careful when using this pad. Some people might have some trouble
keeping this thing in one place on their desk. For this, I have a solution
that is even better than gluing or taping this bastard to your desk. For
people with a desk made of anything except wood, all you have to do is
spay a THIN layer of water onto the back of the pad. I would recommend
using a hair spray bottle for this procedure.

For those of you with a wooden desk like me, DO NOT use the above method
unless you want to destroy the wood. For your desk, I recommend finding
some transparency paper like the ones used on overheads. After you've
found some, tape it to your desk securely on the edge of all four corners.
Then, spray some water on your pad and stick it down. Make sure that the
pad is not sitting on the tape or you'll find some bumps on the corner
of your pad.

Performance

This is what you've all been waiting for. Which pad performs better?
The first impression that I got from the 3M pad is that it grips your
mouse ball really tight. This could be a good thing for some people because
it provides you with a stable and smooth ride throughout the pad. The
bad thing about this is that you feel like you are fighting the pad to
move your mouse. Keep in mind, that fighting feeling goes away as you
use the pad more and more. In Quake, you might need to increase your mouse
sensitivity just a little to get it back to the speed you are used to.
The accuracy of this pad is very good. You will notice that the 3M proves
much better than a conventional mouse pad. If you run your finger over
the surface of this pad, you'll notice the micro texturing of it. 3M claims
that it's supposed to keep your mouse clean and provide better traction.
It certainly does provide better traction, but I don't think it keeps
the mouse clean. Since I've started using this pad, I've had to clean
my mouse once a week. Now, that might not be a problem for some people,
but it is for me. I hate it in the middle of an intense game and my mouse
suddenly decides to stop dead in its tracks because of some dirt.

My first impression from the Everglide is, "Damn, this is smooth!" I
don't think I've ever moved my mouse over a smoother surface. Your mouse
literally just glides over the surface as smooth as a hot knife through
butter. In games, this allows you to lower your sensitivity, which is
more precise. Gaming with this pad is simply amazing. I saw my frags increase
by 3-5. My rail was never any good, but I found that I was registering
more hits than normal. I also didn't have to clean out my mouse ball for
about a month when using the Everglide. This pad is incredibly sweet!

Conclusion

If you are looking for a new mouse pad and demand high performance and
precision, then the Everglide is the best pad to buy. Not only is this
pad the most durable one, it also has the best feeling and precision I
have ever seen. You'll never have to buy another mouse pad again. You
won't have to waste your money replacing that old and scratched up 3M
every couple months!